The Shanghai Major know how

As i am writhing this only a few hours are left between us and the second Major event for Dota 2 the video game. The prize is once again 3 million dolars and it is organised by the Chinese company Perfect World. You can find most of the information on their website although is not fully in English. I do recommend to check the Schedule,since it contains all the details you need. This second Major is taking place at Mercedes-Benz Arena Shanghai between March 2 and March 6.

After The International 5, Valve has decided to introduce The Majors system from CS:GO to Dota 2. We thank them for that since it offered 3 more top tier tournaments throughout the year (and nice compendiums). Before we delight ourselves with dota’s finest, the teams will have to go through the Group Stage play: “Kicking off February 25 at 9:00 AM SGT in Shanghai, each day of the Group Stage will feature four teams battling through a double-elimination bracket. The top two teams will move into the Upper Bracket of the main event while the bottom two teams will settle for seeds in the Lower Bracket.”

Since most of us won’t be attending the event itself, it can be watched in the Dota 2 client or viaTwitch.

The Teams

Although most of the teams we’re the expected ones there are still a few surprises. Most people wondered at first why Alliancegot a direct invite, but since they won 2 major tournaments recently(MLD and Starladder) all has been cleared and Reddit can make another front page post: Alliance is b[Ack]. Even if i am an Evil Geniuses fan i must admit one thing: EHOME are scary.

The Talent

The talent for this Major has shifted a little but it was expected. Most Frankfurt talent is still here and i for sure will miss those who are not. The biggest change is the return of 2GD– James Harding as a host for a Valve event, looking forward to his performance. Best way to keep up with these guys is to follow them on twitter (it’s just one click away)